Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 408 The Fourth Prince Became Emperor? [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Kong Kejian was the Duke Yansheng of this generation. Last year, when Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he repeatedly issued edicts ordering him to go to Nanjing. He declined, citing illness, and endured it for almost a year before finally arriving in Nanjing at the end of the year.

Although they came, they made a lot of sarcastic remarks about Zhu Yuanzhang's poor background, which angered Zhu Yuanzhang so much that if he hadn't been worried about the students of the country rebelling, he would have stripped the Confucius family of their filth that very day.

When the Jin dynasty marched south, he became a traitor to the Han people; when the Mongols marched south, he became a lackey of the Mongols; now that the Han people have finally produced an emperor, he has started selling indentures, thus sowing discord among the ruling class.

Of course, these are all superficial. The underlying reason is still the desire for privileges... All struggles and protests are for the purpose of demanding privileges and benefits. This has been true throughout history and across the world.

Kong Kejian also came to the Temple of Meritorious Officials for this ceremony. Looking at the statues in the temple, he began to lament how many people had died and felt that it was wrong to start a war and cause such widespread suffering.

Old Zhu was already feeling like he'd swallowed a fly, but now that he had the token and Confucius's instructions, he couldn't bear it any longer and immediately called Kong Kejian out of the ranks.

Now is the best time to drag the Kong family down with us. While everyone is still processing the shock brought by the immortals, let's first eliminate the Duke Yansheng, and then have Liu Ji investigate the matter of bloodlines.

The so-called investigation simply involves going back a century to find records of Mongols and Jurchens staying overnight in Qufu, and that's enough... Anyway, this was Confucius's request, not something we, Zhu Yuanzhang, did on our own.

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang mention immortals, Kong Kejian was the first to disbelieve. Leaning on his cane, he stepped forward and said in a sarcastic tone:
"Confucius did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits. Your Majesty would be better off focusing your energy on education. As for me, I am the fifty-fifth generation descendant of the sage. Your Majesty's sudden question about this shows a lack of respect for my Confucian clan."

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked the token in his hand:
"Are you truly a direct descendant of Confucius? Dare to swear it?"

Kong Kejian dropped his cane and looked up at Zhu Yuanzhang:
"I dare to swear, but does Your Majesty dare to listen?"

At this point, many court officials knelt down, begging His Majesty to retract his decree. The scholars, in particular, even resorted to the tactic of remonstrating to the death.

Confucius was the symbol of scholars; once that was destroyed, the privileges and preferential treatment they enjoyed would also collapse.

So regardless of whether the bloodline is real or not, these people will treat it as real, and even protest to the death.

However, they chose the wrong target for their threat. Zhu Yuanzhang was the most ruthless of the four great emperors of all time, and he was also very stubborn. The more you provoked him, the more aggressive he became.

Unexpectedly, even on the verge of death, Kong Kejian remained so arrogant. Old Zhu was furious but laughed instead.

"I started as a beggar and fought my way up through countless battles. What have I not dared to do? Go ahead and make your vow... Just so you know, if you make a rash oath, some god will grant it for you."

Kong Kejian, adopting the air of setting an example for all scholars, said loudly:
"I, Kong Kejian, am a direct descendant of Confucius. If I have uttered any falsehoods, may I be struck by lightning!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a thunderclap resounded in the sky, followed by a bolt of lightning that pierced through the roof of the Temple of Meritorious Officials and struck Kong Kejian directly, turning the Duke Yansheng, who was about to challenge Zhu Yuanzhang, into a charred corpse.

This shocked all the officials. Even the civil officials who had been kowtowing and pleading for their lives stood frozen in place, unsure whether to get up or continue kowtowing.

Liu Ji (Liu Bowen) reacted the fastest, stepping forward and saying:

"Your Majesty, the oath has been fulfilled. Kong Kejian is indeed not a descendant of Confucius. I urge Your Majesty to issue an edict to investigate this matter and set the record straight."

Other court officials followed suit and stepped forward to request Zhu Yuanzhang to conduct a thorough investigation... It turns out that the Duke Yansheng was not a descendant of Confucius. Wasn't this a waste of time to worship him?
Zhu Yuanzhang was prepared to engage in a war of words with his civil officials, but he hadn't expected the token to be so useful. He immediately felt reassured and said to Liu Ji:
"Bowen, immediately lead men to Qufu to thoroughly investigate the matter of Confucius's bloodline. To avoid any interference with the investigation results, all scholars must stay away. Anyone who dares to meddle in this matter will be treated as an accomplice of Kong Kejian!"

After saying that, Old Zhu looked at the ashes left by Kong Kejian and felt a sense of satisfaction... He had repeatedly embarrassed the emperor, and he deserved it.

If the Confucius family treated everyone in the world this way, it would be fine. But they only put on airs and showed disrespect to the Han people, while fawning over other ethnic groups. When the Mongols marched south, the entire Confucius family changed their names to Mongolian names and took the lead in welcoming the royal army, kneeling down with remarkable decisiveness.

After Zhu Yuanzhang had Kong Kejian executed, he addressed his ministers:

"I still need to go to Hunyuan Palace to report back and inform Confucius about everything here. Please wait a moment, I will be back in an hour."

Hu Weiyong stepped forward and asked:
"Your Majesty, was Confucius a deity?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head:
“He is not a deity. Like me, he was a guest at Hunyuan Palace. He learned through the deduction of Immortal Master Yiyuan that the Kong family bloodline had been defiled, so he entrusted me to clean up the family.”

After saying this, Zhu Yuanzhang instructed Hu Weiyong:
"Notify the Ministry of Justice to escort all the men brought by Kong Kejian to prison and interrogate them severely about the matter of their bloodline being defiled. If any accomplices are found, they shall be executed without mercy."

There's a lot of room for maneuver in this matter, since Zhu Yuanzhang has already ordered torture, so it's not surprising that they'll find out anything. As for accomplices... whoever in the court cheers for the Kong family is an accomplice.

After giving his orders, Zhu Yuanzhang disappeared into thin air once again, leaving his ministers in shock. A large number of them immediately knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

The civil officials were in an awkward position. Kong Kejian had been struck dead by divine lightning, confirming that the Kong family of Qufu was indeed of foreign blood. Who should they worship next?
Inside the Hunyuan Palace, after Zhu Yuanzhang returned, the wind and rain subsided somewhat. He followed Zhou Yi and Confucius to the Sanqing Hall, earnestly paid homage to the Three Pure Ones, and recounted the entire experience after his return.

Confucius was very pleased:
"You've done well. Next, you must reduce the Confucius family to ordinary people. If anyone stirs up trouble, kill them without hesitation." Zhu Yuanzhang thought he was cold-blooded and cruel enough, but he never expected Confucius to actually laugh.

"May I ask, Master, what is your purpose in doing this?"

Confucius sighed:

"In order to prevent China from being trampled by foreign invaders again, your Ming Dynasty bears a heavy responsibility. You must guard the borders and prevent the Tartars from invading again, so that this will bring disaster for thousands of years."

Old Zhu immediately understood the meaning behind the words:

"Was my Great Ming Dynasty destroyed by a foreign race?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Tartars from the Northeast knocked on the gates, and peasant uprising armies stormed into the capital. The emperor left behind a message: 'Do not harm the people.' He then hanged himself on Coal Hill. The Tartars entered the pass under the banner of avenging the emperor, and then swept away all the uprising armies. Wherever they went, they massacred the entire city, and the land of China fell into ruin."

Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked, but he quickly came to his senses:

"Where is Coal Hill? There's no such place in Nanjing. Even if the Tartars were to breach the gates, it would take them quite some time to reach Nanjing. What are those incompetent officials in the court doing?"

Zhou Yi pointed north:
"Shortly after your death, the capital was established in Yanjing."

Zhu Yuanzhang was even more confused:
"Yanjing? That's the fiefdom I arranged for the fourth prince... Half an hour ago you almost mistook me for the fourth prince. Could it be that he became the emperor?"

Zhou Yi felt that this matter couldn't be explained in a short time, so he simply found a documentary about Zhu Di's rebellion on his computer. Watching it, Zhu Yuanzhang felt like he was on a rollercoaster, with his emotions going up and down:
"Biao'er actually died of illness so young?"

"Zhu Yunwen... How could I have such a stupid grandson!"

"The coffin was kept in the coffin for seven days before the burial, and the son was not even allowed to attend the funeral... Ah, what a wonderful grandson of mine!"

"That idiot fourth brother, I'm going to give him a good beating when we get back!"

"Before his death, Biao'er actually surveyed the Guanzhong and Heluo regions, intending to move the capital to Luoyang... He was only in his thirties, so why did he die so suddenly? Did the move to move the capital provoke opposition from the court officials?"

"Immortal Master, is it feasible to move the capital to Luoyang?"

This last question was indeed directed to the right person. Zhou Yi had just performed a divination for Zhao Xu regarding the capital city, and nodded, saying:

"Of course it's feasible. The location has already been chosen: it's a place that rivals Zhou and Wei, and connects with Tang and Han... Luoyang has much better water transport conditions than Yanjing, and it has four distinct seasons, unlike the bitter cold of Yanjing. At the same time, it can also serve the northwest, meeting the conditions for establishing a capital."

In the early Ming Dynasty, the Wo River had already reached the Zhengzhou area, and its direction was basically the same as that of the Jialu River in modern society. As long as it was connected to the Luo River, it would be a golden waterway, and there would be no need to dredge the Grand Canal. Northern Jiangsu would not have become a barren land.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Yellow River flowed into the Huai River and then into the sea, but the Huai River also served as a canal... These two things were completely contradictory. If you wanted to transport grain by canal, you couldn't control the Yellow River; if you controlled the Yellow River, the grain transport would be a complete mess.

The Grand Canal was the economic lifeline of the Ming Dynasty and could not be cut off. That would only make the people of northern Jiangsu suffer. During the more than two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, there was a major flood almost every three years and a minor flood every two years. The floods turned northern Jiangsu into a wasteland, with no human habitation for dozens of miles.

If we establish our capital in Luoyang, we won't have to worry about this anymore. We can dredge the Yellow River waterway and implement measures to control the flow of water and attack sand dunes. This will not only reduce the harm caused by the Yellow River, but also open up a large territory in the sea.

As for the grain transport, the Ru River, Ying River, and Wo River can all take on this responsibility. They can even connect the Yu River in Nanyang with the Sha River in Ye County to add a Han River transport route, which would transport grain from the Jingxiang region directly to Luoyang.

Compared to Yanjing, Luoyang was simply the chosen capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately, Zhu Biao died under mysterious circumstances, and the plan to move the capital was abandoned. In the later years of Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, the Ming Dynasty began to develop abnormally. Fortunately, some systems were good, such as the garrison system, which made the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty willing to fight for the court even if they were hungry.

They would travel thousands of miles to fight with their own provisions, and then return hungry after the battle, with their pay delayed for at least three years... This was something that neither the Han nor the Tang dynasties could have done, but it actually happened in the Ming dynasty, and more than once.

This shows that some of the policies formulated by Zhu Biao were very effective, but unfortunately, they gradually got out of control after Zhu Biao's early death.

With Zhu Biao dead, the entire Crown Prince faction had to be wiped out, otherwise Zhu Yunwen wouldn't be able to control the situation, which led to the Lan Yu case... Zhu Yunwen's reduction of the princes' power forced Zhu Di into rebellion, and the situation in the entire Ming Dynasty became increasingly uncontrollable.

Now, taking advantage of the fact that Zhu Biao has only been in power for a year and there is still time to salvage the situation, Zhou Yi plans to extend Zhu Biao's life by several decades, so that the Ming Dynasty can return to its rightful state.

Moving the capital to Luoyang, managing the northwest, destroying the Jurchens, colonizing Japan, resolving the Japanese pirate problem, dominating the seas... It's time to show everyone just how awesome the Ming Dynasty was in its perfect form!

(End of this chapter)